The Dawghowse is a place inside the head of husband, father and Pastor Darrell Garrett. It's the place where the real me lurks.
Be forewarned: It's probably not what you expect. Sometimes it's a serious place... sometimes it's not. Sometimes my thoughts are deep... and sometimes they are just plain weird.
Welcome to my world!
A young woman I know in the Burg had broken free from a relationship where the man was emotionally abusive and had cheated on her repeatedly. I was so happy for her. Last week I discovered that after months of being away from him, she took him back yet again. My heart broke for her, because I realize that she really has no idea of what love is and is so insecure in her own self that she thinks she cannot make it without him. I hope she learns before it is too late. This morning as I was thinking about her, a post I wrote last year came to mind and I wanted to bring it back up to the top. I hope maybe she reads it and she discovers that what she needs in her life more than anything else is Jesus Christ.
I met someone this past week and spent a few hours listening and trying to give advice, although I think it fell on deaf ears. This young lady had been having an affair with a married man for the past couple of years, being strung along by token gifts, sex (which she mistook for love) and hundreds of empty promises that he was going to leave his wife and marry her. He told her last week that it was over, that he was staying with his wife. Now, she is beginning to wake up to the reality that she has been being used and abused for all this time, and she is feeling dirty and unwanted. She told me that in reality, all the guys that she knows have viewed her as a sure bet to sleep with and that she feels no man will ever want her as a wife, only as a plaything. She's feeling totally used up, unloved and unwanted. She called me looking for someone to just listen, in hopes that someone might care.
You know, this is how Satan does all of us. It may not be through a sexual affair, but he toys with us, uses us and leads us on with promises of a better tomorrow and then when he has us set up, the bottom falls out. This is what he does. The Bible says he comes only to steal, kill and destroy. His goal is to steal your heart away from the real love that God offers, kill your spirit and destroy your life and destiny. It is not always with a man or a woman; but sometimes it is through business, sports, drugs, big dreams, hobbies, even religion. He knows where our weakness is and he sends someone or something to steal our affections away, to entice us away from the Lord, from attending worship, from people who love us and then when he has us where he wants us, he rips the rug out from under our feet and leaves us wallowing in a pit of despair. That drug that once made you laugh and think you were having the time of your life, is now a ball and chain to you. That "fun" you were having with illicit sex ends up in an unwanted pregnancy that shatters all your dreams and plans. That boy friend or girl friend that you poured all your time and energy into and gave yourself to in pleasure that you mistook for love, dumps you for another. And you find yourself thinking, "it's over. There is no hope for me."
You can change the story line a few hundred times over and insert different things and/or people that lured you away, but the "game" is always the same. You find yourself sitting all alone asking the question, "Where is the love?"
I'll tell you what it is you are looking for... It is found in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Remember the old commercial, "Try it, you'll like it!" Jesus is just waiting for you to come give him a try. You've tried everything else in this world, why not try the one who loves you like no other and will always be there for you.
How do I know? Because I tried him, took him at his word and I have been in the most awesome relationship with him now for the past 27 years.
In dealing with people as a pastor, one of the most frustrating things I deal with is people making excuses for their behavior, actions and/or lifestyle rather than taking ownership and contending with those issues. A friend of mine and I were talking yesterday about this very issue and he made the comment that it is what he termed "the Vegas Syndrome." I asked him what he meant and he explained that the slogan for Vegas is, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." He went on to explain that there are many who call themselves Christians who think they can do what ever they want and no one will ever find out. I have to agree, my friend is right. So many are guilty of thinking we can hide our sin and we have made excuses so long that they themselves believe the lies that they have spun to cover up a sinful heart. But they have forgotten that God is everywhere and even if no earthly person ever discovers their secrets, God knows. The problem, as I see it is that we flirt with things that we secretly lust after and before long, they allure sucks us in.
Using that Las Vegas analogy, think about walking the streets of Vegas, or some other city. For those of us who are not accustomed to all the excitement, sites and sounds, when we are put into that situation the hustle and bustle draws our attention and wows us. If we hang around that long enough, and as the sun sets and the night life begins, we can find ourselves not only looking on, but joining in on the action around us. That is how lust and temptation works. At first we are stunned, maybe taken off guard, or even in awe of what we see. But the more we look on that thing that is tempting us, we begin to justify within ourselves that "just once" won't hurt. And before we know it, we are hooked by the snare. I've seldom met a man or woman who just got up one day and decided they were going to go out and find someone to have an affair with. No, it began by looking at someone who was tempting and they began to let their mind roam into areas that it should not go, and before they knew it, they were acting out their thoughts. Again, this is how lust works.
God gave us the way to handle this in His Word with one simple command when it comes to avoiding lust: walk away. When you feel the pull of lust in your life, don't give yourself excuses that compromise your integrity. Walk away from the lies of lust. Walk away from any opportunities to meet with that attractive person alone. Walk away from the opportunity to stay late at work with a co-worker of the opposite sex. Walk away from that which is tempting you to steal, to lie or what ever area of temptation you may be facing.
We tend to think of temptations only in the arena of sexual conduct, but anything that pulls at you to violate your love covenant with God is lust and must be contended with and must be walked away from. And to do this, we must also walk away from the excuses we come up with. Making excuses will only lead to destruction. We must make the right choice, the choice to flee temptation, that which is causing us to lust. Rather than make excuses, we need to learn to bring our temptations before the Lord. As we surrender our temptations to God and allow him to work in your life He will give you the power to walk away.
A friend recently sent me an email that related a story about how a letter was returned to the Post Office. Handwritten on the front of the envelope were the words, "He's dead." Somehow through one of those blunders that the postal service is famous for, the letter was again sent to the same address. Once again it was returned to the Post Office with yet another message written in bold read letters: "He's still dead!"
When I got this email, of course I had a little chuckle, but then I began to think about how this symbolizes how so many people resist change. Even though we know the way we've always done things "is dead" or not working anymore, we still have an inner desire to keep doing what we've always done. Many times we even desire to improve or grow, but the sad fact is that we don't want to pay the price for it. And that's a problem, because we will never become what God intends us to be by remaining what we are. The truth is, it's not enough to be open to change, we need to pursue it.
If you're serious about changing your life, Dr John Maxwell says: "Don't just change enough to get away from your problems - change enough to solve them. Don't change your circumstances to improve your life - change yourself to improve your circumstances. Don't do the same old things expecting different results - get different results by doing something new. Don't see change as something hurtful that must be done - see it as something helpful that can be done. Don't avoid paying the immediate price tag of change - if you do, you will pay the ultimate price of never improving." James writes: "When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (Jam 1:3-4 NLT). True change which builds character is a slow process. It doesn't just happen, but rather comes about day-by-day as we work on those issues. Many people try to escape life's difficulties and they short-circuit the process of change, which delays growth, and they end up with a worse kind of pain; that being the worthless type of pain that accompanies denial and avoidance.
People tell me pretty regularly that they need to change, but again I say, it is not enough to be open to change; you must pursue it!
We are just a few weeks away from "Revival Fire 09" which will be held at Harvest Church of God in East Galesburg, IL August 16-19. Revivalist Tom Scarrella will be with us for these meetings and we are expecting miracles, signs and wonders in these 5 services. If you are in the area or are close enough to drive in, we invite and encourage you to join us. I wanted to share this brief video clip to introduce Tom Scarrella to you. For more information about his ministry, visit his website at http://www.scarrella.com
In my sermon this past Sunday I mentioned how that we so often choose to stay mad, or to carry a grudge, and that there comes a point and time to get over it and look to the future, letting go of the "stuff" that weighs us down. This journey in life is too long with too many mountains and rough roads to traverse for us to carry things with us that weigh us down. Anyway, after the service a group of us went out to eat together and we sent our kids and some of their friends on ahead to get enough seats for us all. After they had already left, some people that were going to go called to tell us that they could not come after all, so we called the kids to change the number. A few minutes later another family decided that they would go, so we called the kids again to change the number. Then we found out someone else was coming... and on it went like 4 times. When we got to the restaraunt there was yet another person who had come that we did not know about, so we were one seat short. We decided to put 4 of the teens at a different table... no biggie, right? Wrong! My wife in her frustration said something to my son about the seating and the battle was on. I'm sitting across the table listening to them go back and forth and when I asked them to stop it, my son jumps on me too. I asked him to just drop it, but he kept going on. I told him that we had it all taken care of, everyone was fine, so let's just enjoy lunch. He continued to go on and on. I tried to ignore it, but he and Libby just kept going back and forth and it was begining to make a scene and everyone was getting edgy. I asked Daniel if he had heard what I had said in my message and he snapped back, "I choose to stay angry!" I asked him what he hoped to accomplish with his anger and this argument and he said, "I know what you said, but right now, I want to stay angry!" I just shook my head and thought how foolish this whole thing was.
Now, the reason I'm sharing this is not to belittle Daniel or my wife. The fact is, we all act this way at times, although we seldom verbalize the fact that we are choosing to stay upset. It may be anger or any number of emotions, but we willing choose to carry needless stuff that will only weigh us down and rob us of our joy. This morning I was thinking about this again and I remembered a story I read some years ago in a devotional book. Allow me to recount it here:
Two men went into the hospital about the same time, having suffered similar heart attacks. One of the men grew depressed and irritable. He felt betrayed by his own body and saw his affliction as a sign of weakness. His attitude was sour and he cursed his fate. The other man took it in stride. He kidded with everyone who came to visit him, and he laughed long and hard during his recovery. He just refused to be brought down by his circumstances. Instead, he occupied his time by cheering up other patients and chatting with the staff. The first man grew weak and frail. The other man left the hospital in good health and resumed his life rather quickly.
The point? The way we face life, the way we choose to approach circumstances and our reaction to them, has a lot to do with how good we will feel about it. If we are negative, then life will be a burden. If we are positive, life will seem like the greatest gift we've ever known. I've discovered that happiness is contagious... it spreads! However, sadness, anger and negativity are all contagious too. When we walk around grouchy and gloomy, we spread a dark cloud over all the people we come in contact with. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." A positive spirit is like a powerful medicine. It has the power to heal. It is so much better to face life with joy than to let life get you down. God gave us this life to enjoy and he blesses us when we embrace it with happiness and contentment. It really is a choice that we all have. We have little control over what life throws at us, but we have absolute control over how we react to it. It's our job to stop grumbling and complaining; to stop being so negative and to control our anger. It is up to us to throw off the junk that weighs us down and steals our joy. Do I have it all together? Not at all; but I am better than I used to be and I am growing. Where anger and depression used to imprison me, I choose to let go of stuff, shake it off and move on. I choose joy, for the joy that comes in serving Jesus Christ is my strength.
This morning I felt the Lord directing me to write a short message for someone. I don't know who it is for, and I don't need to know. I'm just going to obey God. This is a small excerpt from a sermon I preached a couple of years ago.
We need to understand our position in Christ and that as a Child of God, you are to go out in the power and authority of the name of Jesus; The name that is above every name. The name that is mightier than sickness, The name that is mightier than poverty. The name that is mightier than death, The name that is mightier than the enemy. When Jesus speaks, the Universe listens, and here’s where it gets even better… He said in John 14:13,14…
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. Did you get that?
Here’s what you need to realize, you’re not a nobody. You’re not just a member in some church. I'm not just some insignificant guy who pastors a small church over in East Galesburg, Illinois. We serve at the pleasure of the Most High God!
Satan does not want you to understand this. You see when you are a somebody in Heaven, even Hell knows who you are! Say what? I submit to you that Hell knows who you are, because you are a somebody in heaven! You are a child of the King of King with full rights, privileges and authority!
And the Devil is trying to play you like a fool… Acting like he doesn’t know who you are!
Listen to me… You don’t have to go around intimidated by the enemy. You don’t have to run from some devil. God is on your side and He’s given you power over all that the enemy has to throw at you.
You need to start telling the enemy to get his hands off your finances. Tell him to get his hands off your children. Tell him to get his hands off your body. Tell him to get out of the house and stay out! God is on your side! Now act like it!
Yesterday one of my church members helped me pick up something for our church and while there we were also getting some large light fixtures for his garage. There was a lot of stuff piled up in this room so I climbed in over it all and grabbed the first light fixture and turned to hand it to Nathan. As I handed it over to him I was just commenting that we needed to watch the box because it was tearing. As he grabbed the box, the corner of it hit a gallon of paint and it fell to the floor. Nathan started screaming and danced out the door, screaming all the way. I could not help myself and I busted out laughing, thinking the paint had hit his foot. As I continued to laugh, I looked down and I saw that the bottom of the box had ripped out and the light fixture, which probably weighed 70 pounds or more and fallen more than two feet and landed across all of Nathan's toes on one foot. I know, I should have gone rushing to his aid to make sure he was okay... right? But no... I started laughing even harder. You know, the kind of gut busting, tears rolling down the cheeks kind of laugh. I really wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I could not stop laughing. By this time he has run/danced down the hall and into a door that was three rooms away and he's still screaming and says, "I can hear you laughing all the way in here. You're not right." Yeah, I just started laughing more. I finally somewhat composed myself enough to go check on him and he is still walking around gingerly, limping and he kept saying, "I think my toes are broke." I cracked up again. He gives me this look and says, "thanks Pastor!" He then pulls off his shoe and the top of his sock has several circles of blood, and he screams, "oh my god, I'm bleeding." Being the gentle compassionate man that I am, I burst into laughter again. The poor man has smashed his toes and has several little cuts just behind his toe nails and I'm laughing at him. That ain't right. A little while later while driving down the road I asked him why is it that we tend to laugh when we see someone else get hurt. Isn't that really a strange reaction? I wonder what it is in us that makes us react that way? I'd like to say that I feel bad for it, but the truth is, I've had to fight off the laughter this morning as I sat here and wrote this. Again... that ain't right.
Oh... by the way... the tables were turned just about an hour later when we were moving a soda machine in our church and Nathan pushed the machine and pinned my little finger between the machine and a table. As he laughed, he said, "you had that one coming Pastor."
I just had a chat with someone online about their belief's and they threw a phrase out at me that really gets my goat. The phrase? "There are many paths up the mountain." They were trying to make the argument that it does not really matter so much what you believe, nor WHO you believe in, just so long as you believe in something. So many people seem to believe that all gods are in reality one and the same god who has wears different masks, or has revealed himself in different ways to different people. The belief in this way of thinking is that we will all end up in the same place, but that we just take a different road or path to that place. Sounds wonderful, but it just is not true. The reality is that many are trudging up the mountain, not realizing that they are on the wrong mountain, and sadly, most will not realize this until the get to the top, or finish their course. The many paths up the mountain concept only works if you absolutely know that there is only one mountain. The fact is, their are multiple mountains (false gods) and we must discern which mountain is in fact the right mountain. My friend asked me the question that I know others will ask. "How do you know you are on the right mountain?" That can be a very long answer, but for the moment, let me just say, "weigh the evidence." Not what "sounds good" but the evidence that leads to truth. If you search for God with all of your heart, you will find him.
Are there many paths? You bet. But they don't all lead to the same place. They don't all have the same reward. We cannot choose the easy road, the convenient road, but we must choose the one road that gets us to the appointed destination. It's not going to be the path or road that the masses are taking. Jesus said it this way, "Go in through the narrow gate, because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going through it: whereas narrow is the gate and cramped is the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
It is clear that there are many paths, but one one path that is right. Suppose you are traveling and you want to enjoy the beauty of the trip, so you alter your course so that you take the road that runs up through the mountain, following the natural twists and turns which brings you to breathtaking views that overlook the surrounding area. When you arrive at the top you get out of your car and look down over the valley and below you can see the Interstate cut through the side of the mountain that is filled with hundreds of cars. All they see is the cutaway mountain and the tail lights of the other cars, but you have enjoyed the beauty of all that is around you. Jesus says that most take the easy route that cuts through without the work and time involved. But being a follower of Christ, a Christian, means that life has twists and turns and bends in the road. There are dangers along the way, but the end result is life while the easy (and popular) path leads to destruction.
Simply put, '"truth is truth." There cannot be multiple and varying truths, for if there is, then they cease to be truth. Jesus said he is the way, the truth and the life. He said that there is one way, through Him, to the Father. If there are "other paths" then that means Jesus lied, which means he is not the truth. You cannot have it both ways.
There may be many paths, but they do not all lead to the same destination. There is one way, and that way is Jesus Christ.
